"Off the Hook" is based on the true story of aspiring rappers in the
South Bronx  and it doesn't stop there. It uses some of the
figures from the real-life story to portray themselves in the film. The
result is a powerful, naturally dramatic piece of low-budget filmmaking.

It's the story of a rap duo, Walter and Lorenzo, who call themselves
Pos-Neg, which describes not only their music but their relationship as
well.

Walter (Walter Velazquez playing himself) is trying to live his
life right  besides hip-hop, he's going to school and has a job
coaching youth baseball in Manhattan.

Lorenzo (Jamal Mackey) is the dark side of Pos-Neg, providing the angry,
violent side of the music and doing his best to live down to the level
of his meanest stereotypes. We know from the beginning that, whatever
his talents, Lorenzo doesn't live very smart. A buddy in a big car stops
to talk to him, points to an uninvolved bystander and says, "That
motherfucker be calling you 'nails.' "

"What's 'nails'?" asks Lorenzo.

"Someone that gets fucked up the ass," the buddy says, and that's all
Lorenzo needs to set him off in a rage  an insult he didn't even
understand from someone he doesn't even know who probably never even
said it. Lorenzo's going to have plenty of trouble before the film's
over because he can barely control his own often-stupid behavior.

While his partner is getting into more and more trouble, Walter falls in
with a local community organizer (Anthony Young as himself) who runs a
positive youth program and promotes music on the side. Things are
looking good for Pos-Neg, if the differences that give them their
creative spark don't also destroy them first.

As a viewer, you can almost feel the tug of the good side and the bad
side on yourself as you watch "Off the Hook." The film is very good at
capturing the angry machismo of urban culture, where the worst thing you
can do is let somebody diss you. Not only Lorenzo but his mother,
sisters, layabout stepfather and his street friends understand this
code, under which they maintain a constant, ambient hostility toward everyone for
fear of the perception of weakness.

At the same time, it offers some hope through the characters who are
doing positive work, and this reminds me of my own experience living in
some of the city's more marginal neighborhoods  they may be poor
and at times dangerous but they're still full of people raising
families, doing jobs and finding enjoyment in life. Daily life doesn't
have to be all about violence and fear, and usually it isn't.

As much as the rap group Pos-Neg seems like a mere plot device to
symbolize this duality of life in the hood, it's part of a true story.
Like a number of French films of the past few years (for example, "The
Life of Jesus" and "Rosetta"), it
uses non-actors and immerses us in a real place to give a naturalistic
portrayal of a community and the people in it. With strong performances
from non-professionals close to the story and the neighborhood,
"Off the Hook" homes in on the natural drama of one corner of New York
and makes it into a very memorable film.